Conventional manufacturing processes and techniques for manufacturing body components of fluid regulators and control valves place design and material restrictions on the body components. Die casting, or similar suitable methods, present certain obstacles in manufacturing body components, and those obstacles are usually overcome at the expense of the design of the body component. For example, a designer of a valve body is faced with the problem of getting molten metal to flow in the casting for the desired shape and thickness of the body. In resolving the issues inherent in die casting, the designer is limited to a body design that can actually and easily be manufactured using known methods. Current manufacturing methods require additional finishing processes, adding to the costs of labor and materials.
Limited to conventional methods of manufacturing, a typical regulator body or valve body is made of a single material at a uniform density. To meet certain strength requirements, the body wall is often given a certain thickness to provide the strength required by the control system to sustain highly pressurized fluids. Thus, regulator and valve bodies are often heavy and provide strength by increasing the thickness of the body wall.
A typical valve regulator 10, as illustrated in FIG. 1, regulates the fluid pressure and/or flow to maintain a selected output pressure, and is generally well known in the art. The fluid regulator 10 includes a regulator body 12, a control element 14, and an actuator assembly 16. The regulator body 12 defines a fluid flow path 18 that extends from a fluid inlet 20 to a fluid outlet 22. The fluid regulator 10 includes an orifice 24 disposed in the fluid flow path 18 and leading to a valve seat 26. The control element 14 is disposed within the fluid flow 18 path and is shiftable between an open position (as shown in FIG. 1) in which the control element 14 is spaced away from the valve seat 26, and a closed position in which the control element 14 is seated against the valve seat 26. The actuator assembly 16 is attached to or otherwise operatively coupled to the control element 14 and is arranged to respond to fluid pressure changes in the outlet 22 and to move the control element 14 between the open position and the closed position in order to control the flow of the process fluid through the orifice 24. The actuator assembly 16 may be conventional and may include a diaphragm assembly 28, load springs 30, and a suitable stem 32 or other suitable linkage. The actuator assembly and diaphragm assembly are enclosed in a housing 34 which is attached to the regulator body 12.
An inner wall 36 of the regulator body 12 provides an area 38 surrounding the inlet 20, an area 40 surrounding the outlet 22, a portion 42 defining the fluid flow path 18, an area 43 surrounding a cylindrical bore 44 to receive the control element 14, and a portion 46 to receive the valve seat 26. The inner wall 36 of the conventional fluid regulator 10, such as the one depicted in FIG. 1, provides a uniform density of a single material, typically metal or plastic, including brass, bronze, cast iron, steel, alloy steels, and stainless steels, or other suitable materials.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a method of manufacturing a body for fluid regulators and control valves where the manufacturing process is driven by design, rather than the design of the body being driven by the manufacturing process. Manufacturing a valve body or a regulator body that may be light, stable, and capable of withstanding pressure of a typical valve body or regulator body is also desirable.